Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said his government is making earnest efforts for transforming Karachi into a more livable, green and resilient metropolitan city.
"For that, we are following a well-thought-out Karachi Transformation Strategy to improve physical and socio-economic infrastructure and services delivery in water supply and sanitation, transportation, urban spaces, and institutional strengthening and transformation," he said, speaking at the launch ceremony of "Educational and Cultural Zone-Saddar area under World Bank-assisted Karachi Neighbourhood Improvement Project," at the Burns Garden on Monday evening. Provincial Ministers, Syed Nasir Shah and Syed Sardar Shah, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, World Bank Country Director Patchamuthu Illangovan, P&D Chairman Mohammad Waseem, Principal Secretary to the CM Sohail Rajput also attended the event.
Murad Shah said World Bank has engaged itself in Karachi Transformation Strategy (KTS) to support Sindh government's vision and has carried out a comprehensive Karachi City Diagnostic (KCD) program. He said KCD is an unprecedented endeavour to collect comprehensive data on the city's economy, livability, and key urban infrastructure; providing an overview of the challenges and opportunities facing the Karachi Metropolitan Region and estimates investment levels needed to bridge the infrastructure gap and improve the metropolitan region's economic potential.
He said in light of the depth and scale of the city's challenges in term of policy reforms, institutional governance, and infrastructure needs, the provincial government and the World Bank have agreed upon a dual-track approach. Under the first track, the Bank is supporting a 'quick wins' operation under Karachi Neighbourhood Improvement Project - KNIP focusing on 'fast, low cost & high impact' interventions to respond to emergent city needs. From this start, the engagement would be a transition to the deeper institutional reforms and major investment needs identified under the KCD. He said these reforms would focus on priority areas such as building a competitive business environment, improving city governance and municipal service delivery, and increasing access to water supply and sanitation for implementation of major KTS initiatives to transform the city KNIP to improve the safety, accessibility, and attractiveness of public spaces in Karachi, such as streets, parks, city squares and pedestrian areas. He said it also aims at ensuring equal access to all, including women, youth and the poor. He said the project, once completed, will also make it easier for the public and investors to access services such as construction work and business registrations.
Murad Shah further said cost of the project is $98 million in which the World Bank's share is $86 million while the provincial government would share $12 million. The project involves 'Public Spaces and Mobility Improvements' in selected three targeted neighbourhoods. They include Saddar downtown area revitalization, Malir area road and public spaces enhancement, Korangi neighbourhood mobility improvements.
The chief minister launched the project by unveiling the plaque. Later, along with Illangovan and provincial ministers, he visited to see under-construction Kemal Ataturk Road, in front of Karachi Museum.
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